I know some people are not fond of secondhand shops, and some people loathe goodwill, but I grew up frequenting the thrift store for many of our basic needs, I even volunteered for a couple summers at the thrift store back in Durango (which was super nice, because I could see things as they came in and was able to get several things a lot cheaper than if they went out on the sales floor.) Don't get me wrong, there are some junky things that you will find thrift shopping, but there are some amazing finds as well.
I haven't frequented thrift stores as often in the past several years, because my husband and I both were working and I was able to splurge a little more (aka clearance racks at Maurices and Kohls). We have a set monthly "Tiffany clothing budget" because I do love clothes and shoes, and Chris, the tenderhearted man that he is, stopped trying to fight it after our first year of marriage, and allotted the budgetary "need" ;)
However with our recent changes in finances, I know that my current "Tiffany clothing budget" is more than we really should be spending. (For the record it REALLY is NOT that much, but every penny counts when you are watching your spending).
When I got my job at Target, I literally had one (1) red shirt and zero (0) khaki pants. I looked at Target, and even with my discount the ONLY khaki pants they had would still cost me $20+ and a plain red T-shirt $7. Goodwill has supplied me with 5-6 shirts and several khaki pants and I have spent no more than $30 on all of it. (I shopped for a few pieces before I knew about their $0.99 sale days)..
Our finances are not the only thing that has changed; my body has too. After the D&C a year ago my body didn't go back to the way it was before, I gained the baby weight, but didn't gain a baby... I had some terrible depression afterwards and I
Anyway, on one of my thrift store adventures, I asked an employee what their rotation is for the color of the week, she turned to me and said "Bring Your Own Giant Robot!" I stared at her in disbelief for a minute before she elaborated, "that's how I remember it, the first thing they taught me was Bring your own giant robot: blue, yellow, orange, green, red." She also explained to me that Sunday is when the colors switch over, Sunday and Wednesday are $0.99 color of the week sale days, and the first Saturday of every month is 50% off the entire store. So any of you that have a Middle Tennessee Goodwill in your backyard, you're welcome! Now you know.
So after that, I try to go to Goodwill on Wednesday's when I know they have their $0.99 sale on color of the week. I also try to ONLY look at color of the week tags, because I might just fall in love with an item that I have to have an internal debate about... Like there was this red pea coat I found, and it fit like a GLOVE. I have always wanted a red pea coat... the price tag $20... YIKES! I couldn't do it. (That's when I asked and found out about Wednesday and the color of the week). I seriously debated for close to an hour whether or not to just suck it up and get it.... It was a high quality brand, 100% wool, and I'm sure I would get my dollar per use out of it. (Tiffany's dollar per use philosophy, in case you don't already know about it: I have to use the item 1x for every dollar I spend; so if I buy $20 jeans, I have to be able to wear those jeans 20x to get my money's worth, etc.) I ended up walking away from it, and decided that if it was still there when the color came up, it was meant to be..... sadly, when I checked for it yesterday, it has been snatched up. Alas, not meant to be.
When looking I also try to make a mental note of items that I like and what color tag they have, 2 weeks ago (right after I learned about Giant Robots taking over goodwill) I found several pair of knee-length shorts, but they had orange tags. I made a mental note to come back in two weeks to see if any of them were still there, and by golly, I snagged 4 pair of knee-length shorts, for you guessed it, a whopping $4! If I bought them when I saw them two weeks ago, it would have cost me $18... which is still a pretty good price, but I wasn't in "love" with any of them, so buying them at $1 each makes it easier to wear because I didn't spend very much on them. (although, truth be told, I did find a pair of white knee-length shorts yesterday that I hadn't spotted on my previous trip that I LOVED and "had to have" but I lucked out and they were the right color tag!)
(Terrible cell phone quality photo, I will have to try to take some better pictures, probably of the pieces I am most excited about that I have found. You can also see three of the four pairs of shorts with the white pair on top. You can also see the ralph lauren shirt I found in the top right corner, as well as Midnight's butt to your left, because we all know she has to be in the thick of it all.)
However, on two trips I have spotted an item that was not the color of the week, and couldn't put back on the shelf. They (surprisingly?) were both Ann Taylor brand, and I know that they will be snagged up if I wait until the week their tag comes up.
(The top I spotted yesterday.... Again TERRIBLE cell phone quality, I promise this one really is a keeper, the photo does NOT do it justice in any way shape or form)
(last week: 6 items $6. This week 9 items, $12.50)
I don't know if it was how I was raised, but I have always loved the "hunt". I guess that's why I love clearance racks as well. I love scouring and finding a gem in the middle of a bunch of meh. I will try to take a few better photos in the next few days and share the finds with you soon.
Also, in the coming weeks I will blog about tearing down the old house, our move, and our new lives in Tennessee.... YIKES!
